Device for supporting or holding in position articles of dress, such as skirts and blouses.



No. 834,728/ mmnmnn oc'r. so, 1906.

Q -R.\B.HIOPE.Y v DEVICE FORSUPPORTI'NH 0R, HOLDING m POSITIONARTIGLESOF nanss,

'SUCH AS SKIRT SAND BLOUSES.

- -nr1.1on1on nun nut 11. 1900.

' INVENTOR WITNESSES v K M v ATTORNEYS for securing the device to theperson.

. UNITED STATEs PATENT oFFIoE.

RICHARD BERWIOK HOPE, OF LONDON, ENGLAND. DEVICE FOR SUPPORTlNG ORHOLDING IN POSITION ARTICLES 0F DRESS, SUCH AS SKl RTS AND BLOUSES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May 11, 1906. SerialNo. 316,342.

Patented Oct. 30, 1906.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD BERWroK HOPE, photographer andportrait-painter, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland,residing at 171 New Bond street, in the county of London, England, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Devices for Supporting orHolding in Position Articles of Dress, such as Skirts and Blouses, ofwhich the following is aspecification.

The object of this invention is to provide a device for supporting orholding in position articles of dress, such as skirts and blouses, whichdevice is very convenient in application and will hold very securely andnot dam age the articles of dress.

For the purposes of description we will presume that the device is to beused for securing a blouse and supporting a skirt.

The device according to this invention consists of a plate which isprovided with means for securing it to the waist, the said plate havingin it a slot and having hinged to it a bar, flap, or the equivalent,(which I will refer to as the bar,) with a wedge attached to or formedon it, and means for securing the said bar so that when a portion of theblouse is placed over the slot and the bar carrying the wedge is turneddown upon it and the said bar is secured in-position the said wedgeholds the blouse by forcing part of the said portion between the saidwedge and the sides of the said slot. To secure theskirt, the device isprovided with openings, through which project prongs or pins, which passthrough the waistband of the skirt when it is pressed onto them, thesaid pins or prongs being then passed under catches or shields whichhold the said pins or prongs in their securing position.

The accompanying drawings represent a device constructed in accordancewith this invention.

Figure 1 is an elevation; Fig. 2, a longitudinalsection; and Fig. 3 across-section on the line A B, Fig. 1.

1 is the plate, which is preferably made of rigid metal and of acurvature adapted to the contour of the part of the person (say thewaist) to which it is to be applied. At each end of this plate are slots2 for the attachment of pieces of tape, webbing, or the like gitudinalslot 3 is made in the plate 1, and hinged at or near to one end of theslot 3 is a bar 4, preferably of spring metal and having A lon-- atongue 5 at the end opposite the hinged end, over which tongue 5 can bepassed a loop 6 to secure the bar in the position in which the wedge 7(formed on or afiixed to the said bar 4 longitudinally thereof) entersthe slot 3, so as to hold securely between the edges of the slot 3 andthe wedge 7 a portion of the blouse, for example. In the said plate 1,toward each end, and preferably above the level of the slot 3, areopenings 8, and secured to the back of the plate 1 is a wire 9, whoseends are being passed under catches 12, which are preferably bent up outof the material of the plate 1, as shown.

In using the device, as applied, for example, to securing a blouse and askirt, the device is secured to the waist over the lower part of theblouse by means of the pieces of tape, webbing, or the like, and then aportion at the lower edge of the blouse is turned up over the slot 3 inthe plate 1, and the bar 4 is turned down over the said portion of theblouse, so that the Wedge 7 forces a sufficient part of the said portionthrough the slot 3, and the loop 6 is then passed over the tongue 5, andthe bar 4 is thus held so as to keep the blouse in position. Theportions of the Waistband of the skirt at each end are then passed overthe projecting pins 10, which are then turned under-the catches orshields 12, and the skirt is thereby held in position.

The wedge 7 is preferably covered with.

rubber or'other soft material to prevent any chance of injury to theblouse. This may be done by cementing the rubber or other material inplace or by making a piece of rubber of the shape of the wedge, butsomewhat smaller, so that it can be sprung over the wedge 7, which canbe provided with ribs or projections to hold the rubber in place.

Although I have described the wedging arrangement for holding a blouseor the like and the pin and catch or shield arrangement for holding awaistband or the like as combined in one device, it is to be understoodthat either can be used without the other or in combination with othermeans of securing the blouse or the like in the case of the pins andcatch or shield arrangement, and with Having now particularly describedand ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner thesame is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In a devicefor securing articles of dress a plate having in it a slot and providedwith a bar carrying a wedge and means for sec'ur ing the said bar sothat a part of the article of dress to be secured can be held betweenthe said wedge and the edges of the said slot; substantially ashereinbefore described.

2; In a device for securing articles of dress,- a plate having in it aslot and provided with a bar carrying a wedge and means for securing thesaid bar so that the part of the ar tide of dress to be secured can beheld be tween the said wedge and the edges of the said slot, the saidplate being also provided with a combination of pins and catches,- or

ently-operated catches and shields for the same substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.-

RICHARD BERWICK Horn.

Witnesses WILLIAM GERALD REYNOLDS, GILBERT FLETCHER TYSON.

